CASEWe have all been heartbroken over the devastation in Texas and Florida and the islands in the Caribbean this fall due to hurricanes and tropical storms. We know the heartache these people are going through and the cleanup that will take months. So many have already donated items and are planning trips to assist.

But what happened last week in Las Vegas, how do we react to such a vicious, senseless act of man which in the course of just minutes altered the lives of so many? As I write this article, the authorities are totally stymied as to a motive. But a motive wouldn't bring back those who died. And those who survived will forever be changed. It isn't even those who were injured who will suffer but also all of those first responders and all the hospital staffs — not just the doctors and nurses, but all the staff who saw what resembled a war battle field more than the aftermath of a concert! Will anyone be able to go to an outdoor open event again without looking around for possible sniper locations?

But with all of this, I have been most impressed with the stories of the actions of ordinary people doing extraordinary acts of heroism. People who held total strangers in their arms as a comfort. People who commandeered vehicles to take people to the hospital. The people who stood in line for hours to give blood. The GoFundMe site that has reached millions ... all of these acts prove there is good in the heart of man. We must never let the act of one be the determinate of our fears.
We do have a responsibility to know just as this act has impacted us, our students are being impacted. No matter where you live, students need to be reassured—they are seeing the same news you are. The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) has some amazing trauma materials — please make sure your schools are aware of these materials.

Our prayers go out to the folks of Las Vegas and all of Nevada. We know they have been through an unimaginable ordeal and it really isn't over yet!

It is not too late to register for the 2017 CASE Fall conference — Nov. 2-4! You still have time to register for the CASE Fall Conference in Reno, Nevada, where you can hear four (4) amazing keynotes and choose from over 40 breakout sessions! I promise you this is sure to be one of the best and least expensive ones you could attend this decade! Don't put off registering any longer! Kindel Mason (ID), CASE Professional Development chair and his committee have put together an amazing program! The 27th Annual CASE Fall Conference will be held at the Nugget in Reno, Nevada, Nov. 2-4. Now is a great time to go ahead and reserve you room at the Nugget at the amazing group rate of just $81 a night — and that includes your airport to hotel and back transportation!

Learn about school mental health resources available from the National Association of School Psychologists at the CASE Conference in Reno! NASP Leaders and Staff will be hosting an exhibit booth at the 2017 CASE Conference sharing handouts and materials to support comprehensive mental health services in schools. Free handouts and publications addressing school climate, school safety, mental health and wellness, multi-tiered systems of support, school Medicaid funding, and the contemporary role of school psychologists will be featured. Additionally, NASP will be making two presentations on Thursday, Nov. 2 addressing how to "Leverage the Skills of Your School Psychologist to Improve MTSS Implementation" from 2:30-3:30 p.m., and "Practical Strategies to Facilitate Access to School Mental Health Services" from 3:45-4:45 p.m.. Each of these sessions will offer practical strategies on how to expand access to mental health services. The perspectives of practitioners and school administrators will be addressed.

The question last week was a follow up to the one the week before — "Would you be interested in a community service project associated with the CASE Conference?" While we didn't have a lot of response to the question, a full 80 percent of those answering said they would be interested in a community service project. Given the incident last week, it is highly possible there would be an opportunity for CASE to orchestrate a community service activity of some sort to benefit the Las Vegas/Nevada community. We will explore that idea.

Thank you for all you do for so many ALL of the time! Take care of yourself so you can better take care of others!

University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Researchers have spent ample time determining which variables influence school outcomes. Parent and family involvement is one such variable that has been found to be important to school outcomes. Parent involvement has shown to predict academic engagement independent of cultural differences; however, motivating and encouraging parent involvement may differ across cultural groups. Schools should evaluate how best to encourage parent involvement on a family's individual basis. Researchers have also found that parental involvement is especially important for students with behavioral issues. When schools determine best practices for students, especially students with behavioral issues, they should consider how they might collaborate with the students' family.

CASEThis regular update highlights new legal developments of major significance of special education leaders.

As a service to CASE members, this periodic legal alert provides, as a two-column table, highlights (on the left) and practical implications (on the right) of major new legal developments. The monthly update for this issueREAD MORE

NCII and CECWriting Better: How Can Teachers Use Data to Individualize Instruction in Writing?
On Oct. 11 from 3-4 p.m. ET, Drs. Kristen McMaster and Erica Lembke will present a data-based decision-making framework to individualize instruction for students with intensive needs in writing. They will describe Curriculum-Based Measures in writing, how these measures can be used for instructional decision making, and how teachers can access assessment tools for instructional decision making. Click here to register.

Writing Better: What Teachers Can Do Today To Enhance Their Students' Writing?
On Oct. 26 from 3-4 p.m. ET, Dr. Steve Graham will share an evidence-based framework for providing effective writing instruction. This will include the presentation of a variety of techniques that teachers can use today to improve their students' writing. Click here to register.

CASERegistration is open for Restoring Focus on the Child: The Seventh National Symposium on Dispute Resolution in Special Education, Oct. 18-20 in Eugene, Oregon. The Symposium will bring together individuals who are interested in resolving disputes in a productive manner and building collaborative relationships that will lead to better educational programs for students with disabilities. The program includes an incredible list of keynote and featured speakers, ensuring an excellent professional development experience.

Interest in the program has been very high and the event may sell out. Thus, we are encouraging you to register as soon as possible. Registration fees for the 3-day Symposium are $325.00 which includes the Professional Development Institute, continental breakfast and lunch each day.

We believe you will find the Symposium stimulating, informative and provocative, as well as an outstanding opportunity to make new connections and network with your colleagues from around the country. Please feel free to contact Diana Cruz or Noella Bernal if you have any questions or if we can assist you in any way. We look forward to seeing you in Eugene!
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CEC Policy Insider
The Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education recently released a series of three IDEA Data Briefs. The three topics included in the series are: Due Process Complaints/Hearing, Written State Complaints, and Mediation. States are required to report activity and performance on dispute resolution options to the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs annually. READ MORE

CEC Policy Insider
The Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children, in partnership with Child Care Aware of America and the Ounce of Prevention Fund, recently released Building Inclusive State Child Care Systems. The resource is intended to support child care administrators, IDEA Part C and Part B 619 Coordinators, early childhood advocates and other relevant stakeholders in achieving full inclusion of young children with disabilities in early care and education programs. READ MORE

CEC Policy Insider
In a recent notice in the Federal Register, the Institute of Education Sciences announced the extension of the application deadline date for certain fiscal year 2018 education research and special education research grant programs. READ MORE

By: Susan Winebrenner (commentary) By this time of the school year, some gifted or advanced learners may be struggling to complete their work in certain subject areas. To fully understand this dynamic, try to remember a time when you felt "trapped" at a mandatory in-service, class or other event at which you discovered immediately that you already knew all the content but were still required to stay to the bitter end of the event. I'm predicting that your primary goal became getting out of there early, at almost any cost!READ MORE

Education WeekThe school year may be well underway and teachers are already plastering their hallways with Halloween decorations, but the real fright for district superintendents in those states is whether legislative infighting will lead to midyear cuts. A handful of states' legislatures, including in Connecticut and Wisconsin, are still bickering over how to distribute millions of dollars in education money this year. Connecticut has gone three months without a budget and Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy vetoed a proposed $40 billion budget that included $1.9 billion for education. READ MORE

Education WeekParents who opted their children out of state exams in recent years became the focal point of major education debates in the country about the proper roles of testing, the federal government, and achievement gaps. Now. under the Every Student Succeeds Act, states have a chance to rethink how they handle testing opt-outs. So how are states responding in their ESSA plans they submitted to the federal government? In short, it's all over the place, an Education Week review of the ESSA plans shows.
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Education WeekMany children who have reading difficulties such as dyslexia also struggle with math — and educators need to be prepared to address both issues, as well as the behavior problems that may arise in children who struggling academically. That finding is one of the takeaways of a National Science Foundation-sponsored conference this week that brought experts in the fields of STEM education and learning disabilities. Back in 2016, Congress approved the Research Excellence and Advancement for Dyslexia, or READ Act, which set aside federal funds to support research in the science of learning disabilities and dyslexia, as well as best practices for teacher professional development and curricula development.READ MORE

NPRThink back to grade school for a moment and envision that one teacher who could captivate you more than any other. Did that teacher look a bit like you? One recent study says: probably. There's mounting evidence that when black students have black teachers, those students are more likely to graduate high school. That new study takes this idea even further, providing insight into the way students actually think and feel about the teachers who look like them and those who don't.READ MORE

U.S. News & World ReportThe story of America is one of hard-fought, continual efforts to move our nation toward becoming "a more perfect union," and quality public education is a vital part of these efforts. Yet our nation's most vulnerable students, in far too many areas, continue to be underserved by our education system. These young people are our LGBTQ students, students of color, low-income students, English learners, students with disabilities and students living at the intersection of multiple, historically marginalized identities.READ MORE

School Leaders NowYou know the scene: a student is acting up, and their behavior is so disruptive that it affects the rest of the class. The knee-jerk response is to punish or discipline the child by taking away recess. After all, why should the student who misbehaves have the privilege of goofing off with their friends? It turns out, this point of view may sound logical, but it's the wrong way to look at recess. That "goof off" time isn't a privilege — it's a necessity for any child's health and well-being.READ MORE

eSchool NewsDeveloping quality assessments can be challenging for a number of reasons. And, because assessments are essential in so many student-focused decisions, it's important to get them right. Here are eight steps that teachers and curriculum directors can use to create high quality, effective assessments.READ MORE

EdTech MagazineAs teachers, we don't have a lot of control over what goes on at home, so tackling the literacy rate starts in school. The reality is that a big percentage of middle and high school students scored below proficient in reading and writing. Low literacy is critical not just for the individual who will most likely struggle to find work, but also for the economy as a whole, as unemployment costs the country billions every year. Educators have to get creative and take advantage of the many free and useful tech tools out there. Adapting lessons to fit every learner's needs is far from an easy task, but these six tools can help make it simpler, clearer and more engaging for everyone.READ MORE

NPRHow do you judge how good a school is? Test scores? Culture? Attendance? In the new federal education law (the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA) states are asked to use five measures of student success. The first four are related to academics — like annual tests and graduation rates. The fourth measures proficiency of English language learners. The fifth is the wild card — aimed at measuring "student success or school quality" — and the law leaves it to states to decide.READ MORE

Edutopia (commentary)Writing is complicated. Depending on the study you read, strong writing requires a mastery of 28, 34 or 47 distinct skills. The fact that researchers can't even agree on how many traits go into writing illustrates just how complicated it is. That makes the teaching of writing really complicated — writing teachers need to understand this complex skill and find a way to pass it on to 140 or more students, each with his or her own blend of prior knowledge, writing ability and motivation.READ MORE

Education WorldThe flexible classroom, with couches, mats, optional and alternative seating, and cozy corners for kids to concentrate, is cropping up more often again this school year, but the efforts to get rid of rigid rows of desks goes back a decade, and perhaps more than 80 years. And the debate about whether it improves learning often has been the same. Today, the idea has devotees and detractors, but they pretty much agree that, above all else, the design of a classroom should match the teacher, the subject, and the students that are using it each day.READ MORE

Name: Comment Request; Report of Infants and Toddlers Receiving Early Intervention Services and of Program Settings Where Services Are Provided in Accordance With Part C, and Report on Infants and Toddlers ...
Type: Notice.
Summary: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is proposing a revision of an existing information collection.
Date: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before Oct. 27.
Click here to view.

Name: Comment Request; State Lead Agency Record Keeping and Reporting Requirements Under Part C of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Type: Notice.
Summary: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is proposing an extension of an existing information collection.
Date: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before Oct. 27.
Click here to view.

Name: Comment Request; Annual State Application Under Part C of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act as Amended in 2004
Type: Notice.
Summary: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is proposing an extension of an existing information collection.
Date: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before Oct. 27.
Click here to view.

Name: Arbitration Panel Decisions Under the Randolph-Sheppard Act
Type: Notice of arbitration decisions.
Summary: The Department of Education (Department) is changing the way it notifies the public of arbitration panel decisions under the Randolph-Sheppard Act. The Department will no longer publish detailed synopses of each decision in the Federal Register. Rather, the Department will publish a quarterly notice in the Federal Register listing any decisions reached in the previous three months. The full text of the decisions will be available on the Department's Web site and by request. This notice lists decisions from the first two quarters of 2017 and available decisions from 2016. The decisions are available here.
FR Link: Click here to view.